Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

The Better Academy is an initiative operated by The Better Agency(“we”, “us”, or “our”), based in Thrissur, Kerala, India. For the purposes of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (“DPDP Act”), we act as the Data Fiduciary for the personal data you submit through this website.

You can reach us about privacy matters at privacy@thebetteracademy.com.

2. The personal data we collect

We only collect the information you provide voluntarily through our application form. This includes:

• Your full name
• Email address and phone number
• Age, city, and current profession
• Your level of creative experience
• Your motivation statement (free text you choose to share)
• Optional links: portfolio, Instagram handle, and LinkedIn profile

We do not intentionally collect sensitive categories of data, and we ask that you do not include them in free-text fields.

3. Why we use your data

We process your personal data only for these specific purposes:

• To review and evaluate your application to the founding batch
• To contact you about your application, interviews, and admission decisions
• To share relevant updates about the academy’s launch, where you have consented to be contacted
• To improve our application process and respond to your queries

4. Our legal basis

We process your personal data on the basis of your consent, which you provide through a clear affirmative action when you tick the agreement box and submit the form. You are free to decline, though we will not be able to process an application without the required information.

5. How your data is shared

We do not sell your personal data. We share it only with trusted service providers who help us operate the application process, acting as our Data Processors under contract:

• EmailJS — used to deliver your application form submission to our inbox.
• Our hosting provider — used to serve this website.

We may also disclose data where required by law or to protect our legal rights.

6. How long we keep it

We retain application data only for as long as necessary to evaluate your application and administer the founding batch, after which it is deleted or anonymised, unless a longer period is required by law. You may request deletion at any time (see “Your rights” below).

7. How we protect your data

We apply reasonable technical and organisational safeguards to protect your data against unauthorised access, loss, or misuse. However, no method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

8. Your rights

Under the DPDP Act, as a Data Principal you have the right to:

• Access a summary of the personal data we hold about you
• Request correction or updating of inaccurate data
• Request erasure of your personal data
• Nominate another individual to exercise your rights in the event of death or incapacity
• Grievance redressal (see below)

To exercise any of these rights, email us at privacy@thebetteracademy.com.

9. Withdrawing your consent

You may withdraw your consent at any time, with the same ease as you gave it, by emailing privacy@thebetteracademy.com. Once you withdraw consent, we will stop processing your data unless we are legally required to retain it. Withdrawal does not affect processing carried out before the withdrawal.

10. Data of minors

The academy is intended for adults. Our application is open only to individuals who are 18 years of age or older, and we do not knowingly collect the personal data of children (individuals under 18 under the DPDP Act). If we learn that we have inadvertently collected data from someone under 18, we will delete it promptly.

11. Cookies and analytics

This is a static website. We do not use tracking cookies for advertising. If we introduce analytics in the future, we will update this policy and, where required, seek your consent.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top reflects the latest version. Material changes will be communicated where appropriate.

13. Grievance redressal

If you have any concern about how your personal data is handled, please contact our Grievance Officer:

Grievance Officer, The Better Academy
privacy@thebetteracademy.com

If your grievance is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may escalate it to the Data Protection Board of India in accordance with the DPDP Act.